AUGUST 2013 -
7
WTBA To Conduct Strike Gold Celebrity
Challenge In Connection With
World Championships
LAS VEGAS – Bowling fans will have an opportunity to bowl with the best bowlers in the world
when the Strike Gold Celebrity Challenge takes place Aug. 17 at Sunset Station’s Strike Zone Bowl-
ing Center in Henderson, Nev.
The event will precede the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Championships and will
benefit Special Olympics. The pro-am style event is open to the public and will have squads at 9:30
a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
“We have a very important partnership with Special Olympics, and we are excited to hold a first-
class event to raise funds for them,” WTBA President and CEO Kevin Dornberger said. “The Strike
Gold Celebrity Challenge will be a fun, once-in-a-lifetime event for bowling fans.”
In addition to the best bowlers in the world, celebrities will also take part in the festivities. Former
NBA star Sam Perkins is the first celebrity to RSVP for the event. Perkins works with Special Olym-
pics to conduct basketball clinics around the world. He played 17 seasons in the NBA and won an
Olympic gold medal competing for Team USA.
The public is welcome to enter the Strike Gold Celebrity Challenge. The three-game event featur-
ing automatic strikes in the third, sixth and ninth frames and offers two entry options.
The Striking Gold package is $169 and includes a Storm or Brunswick bowling ball, a current copy
of Bowlers Journal International, a one-year subscription to Bowlers Journal International, lunch and
refreshments, entertaining impersonators and a social and autograph opportunity with elite world
athletes. The Platinum package is $99 and includes all items except the bowling ball.
Entry information can be found on the official website of the WTBA World Championships,
BOWL.com/World2013.
WTBA will also conduct a free youth and special athlete clinic on Aug. 16, which will be run by
international coaches and players.
Sponsors of these events include Kegel, Storm, Brunswick, Rolltech, Bowlers Journal Interna-
tional, the United States Bowling Congress, the City of Henderson, Station Casinos, Sunset Station
and Red Rock Casino Resort.
The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the
sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA, visit WorldTenpinBowling.com.
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
Rash, Kulick Lead World Bowling Tour Points
List After U.S. Open
ARLINGTON, Texas - Americans Sean Rash and Kelly Kulick lead the World Tenpin Bowling
Association World Bowling Tour points list after the recently concluded United States Open in Co-
lumbus, Ohio.
The World Bowling Tour is made up of various events around the world and players earn points
based on how they finish in each event. The current points system is based on a continuous two-
year cycle, so points include some events from 2011 and all events from 2012 in addition to the
2013 events.
The U.S. Open was a major on the World Bowling Tour and awarded double points, allowing
Kulick to pick up 80 points for a second-place finish. Kulick has 564 points and leads fellow Ameri-
can Missy Parkin, who has 514 points.
The top five spots in the women's points list all come from the United States. After Kulick and
Parkin, Johnson is next on the list after being bolstered by her win at the U.S. Open.
Johnson has 473 points, while Diandra Asbaty, who finished fourth at the U.S. Open, is fourth
with 357 points. Shannon Pluhowsky rounds out the top five with 351 points.
On the men's side, Rash leads the way with 562 points, while Mika Koivuniemi of Finland is sec-
ond with 522 points. Australia's Jason Belmonte used a second-place finish at the U.S. Open to add
80 points to his total, bringing him to 498.
Mike Fagan of the United States sits in fourth with 488 points, while Tommy Jones of the United
States is fifth with 455 points.
The next event on the World Bowling Tour schedule is the WTBA World Championships in Hen-
derson, Nevada, United States. That will be immediately followed by a women's only event - the
United States Bowling Congress Queens - which will also be held in Henderson, Nevada.
The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 112 bowling federations, governs the
sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and for the complete World Bowling Tour
points list, visit WorldTenpinBowling.com.
Team USA Wins First World Games Bowling
Gold Medal In History
CALI, Colombia - Team USA won its first gold medal in bowling in World Games history Thursday
night as Mike Fagan of Fort Worth, Texas, and Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., won the mixed doubles
title.
In the two-game gold-medal match, Team USA defeated Canada, 905-871, before a near capac-
ity crowd at Cali Bowling Coliseum. Bowling has been part of the World Games since 1981, and the
United States had previously been shut out of the gold medals.
Spurred by a strong finish, Kulick and Fagan both struck out in the final frame to lock up the title.
Kulick had games of 200 and 226, while Fagan shot 200 and 279 in the winning effort. Canada's
Lynne Gauthier shot 214 and 224, while Dan MacLelland fired 195 and 238.
"It was a definite honor for us to win the first World Games gold medal, and I'm really just speech-
less right now," Fagan said. "The match with Canada was neck-and-neck, back-and-forth and luckily
we got the last blow in and got the win."
Canada took a nine pin lead after the first game when Team USA got off to a slow start but both
U.S. players started with doubles in Game 2 and never looked back.
"Mike and I seem to work very well together, and we trust each other," Kulick said. "I wanted to do
this for our country, our team and ourselves. And now we know we fulfilled an obligation and came
through."
Team USA knocked off Mexico in the semifinal to advance to the gold-medal match. In a one-
game match, the United States outdueled Mexico, 510-413. Fagan shot 268, while Kulick added
242. Mexico's Alejandro Cruz shot 244, while Sandra Gongora had 169.
All teams bowled six games of qualifying leading up to the three-team stepladder finals. All indi-
vidual scores from the mixed doubles event will carry forward into the singles event.
All players will bowl six games of singles Friday and six games Saturday before the cut is made to
the top 10 in each division for round-robin match pay. After match play, the top three make the step-
ladder finals.
The World Games bowling competition features 24 countries from around the globe. For more on
the World Games, visit BOWL.com.
2013 WORLD GAMES
At Cali Bowling Coliseum, Cali, Colombia Thursday's results
CHAMPIONSHIP (Two games, total pinfall): United States (Kulick 200-226, Fagan 200-279) def.
Canada (Gauthier 214-224, MacLelland 195-238), 905-871
SEMIFINAL (One game, total pinfall): United States (Kulick 242, Fagan 268) def. Mexico
(Gongora 169, Cruz 244), 510-413
Vidad Wins Senior U.S. Women's Open
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Paula Vidad of Sun City, Calif., defeated Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Fla., 234-
215, on Wednesday to win the 2013 Bowling's Senior U.S. Women's Open presented by BPAA and
Storm.
Vidad stepped up in the final two frames and closed out the title match with four clutch strikes to
lock up the victory at Sequoia Pro Bowl.
"It's amazing to win my second major title," said Vidad, who won the USBC Senior Queens in
2011. "We don't have a whole lot of tournaments for the senior women, so it's always special.
There's nothing like winning a major and holding up that trophy."
Sandelin led the event throughout qualifying and match play leading up to the stepladder finals,
but was unable to pick up the victory in the high-scoring finale. Sandelin also finished as the runner-
up last year.
Vidad, who entered the stepladder as the second seed, easily won her semifinal match against
Tish Johnson of Colorado Springs, Colo., 238-177. Johnson took down Kristy Whitcher of Belfair,
Wash., 178-147, in the opening match.
The Senior U.S. Women's Open was the second leg of the Senior Women's Triple Crown pre-
sented by The Orleans. The Triple Crown includes the National Golden Ladies Classic, won by
Johnson in March, and the Senior Queens, which will take place at the International Bowling Cam-
pus from Oct. 24-29.
For more information on the Senior U.S. Women's Open, visit BowlingsUSOpen.com.
Bowling's Senior U.S. Women's Open
At Sequoia Pro Bowl, Columbus, Ohio
Wednesday's results
Final standings: 1, Paula Vidad, Sun City, Calif., 472 (two games), $2,500 2, Lucy Sandelin, Tampa,
Fla., 215 (one game), $1,250 3, Tish Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colo., 355 (two games), $1,000 4,
Kristy Whitcher, Belfair, Wash., 147 (one game), $800
Stepladder results: Match One - Johnson def. Whitcher, 178-147 Semifinal - Vidad def. Johnson,
238-177 Championship - Vidad def. Sandelin, 234-215
